Elk Grove Village is a village located in northeastern Illinois adjacent to O'Hare International Airport and the city of Chicago. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small portion in DuPage County. The population was 33,127 at the 2010 census.[1] As the name suggests, Elk Grove Village is home to a small herd of elk kept in a grove at the eastern edge of the Busse Woods forest preserve for which the grove is named. Elk are not native to the area but were brought from Montana by an early resident, Busse, in the 1920s.[citation needed] The elk are currently maintained by the Chicago Zoological Society veterinary staff and the Busse Woods Forest Preserve wildlife biologists.[2]

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Elk Grove Village is home to the largest industrial park in North America.[3] Over 3,600 businesses are located in its 5.4-square-mile (14 km2) business park adjacent to O'Hare International Airport. The community is served by several Interstate highways including I-90, I-290/I-355/Route 53 combination, and the Elgin–O'Hare Expressway.

Elk Grove Village is also home to Alexian Brothers Medical Center (ABMC) hospital, which is the largest employer in the community with over 2,200 workers. There are a number of other well-known corporations including Apple Vacations, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Illinois Tool Works (ITW), ADP, CitiGroup, Symons, and Pepsi Cola Distribution. The headquarters of United Airlines were in the unincorporated area of Elk Grove Township until it moved to downtown Chicago; the Elk Grove office is still in use as United's Operations Center.

Elk Grove Village, incorporated in 1956 in Elk Grove Township, was originally founded as a planned suburban community. The majority of houses were constructed by Centex Corporation. As part of the original planning concept, the village was to be home to separated residential and industrial areas (the latter of which would later become the largest contiguous industrial park in North America).

Prior to its development as a residential community, it was home to many farmers and their families (mostly German immigrants). Many of the major streets in and around the village are named for these farmers. Busse Farm is the final undeveloped agricultural property in the village, located between Higgins Road and Oakton Street, and was at one time considered as a location for a new Chicago Bears stadium, to replace the aging Soldier Field.

The original boundaries of Elk Grove Village's residential area were Higgins Road (Illinois Route 72) on the north, State Road (now Arlington Heights Road) on the west, Landmeier Road on the south, and Wildwood Road on the east. The village easily doubled in size during the 1960s. By the end of the decade, most of the land between O'Hare Airport and I-290/IL-53 was developed. As the village expanded to the south and west, new roads, schools, and parks were added to the community. Rupley Elementary was the first school to be constructed in Elk Grove Village, and it was named after the president of Centex.

In the 1970s, the village developed land west of the expressway in Schaumburg Township along with industrial development into Addison Township. New apartment communities were constructed in Elk Grove along Tonne Road and Ridge Avenue. These developments have since been sectioned, and some converted to condominium homes. The village saw continuous residential, commercial, and industrial growth during the 1980s. However, Lively Junior High School was no longer necessary and saw fast-declining enrollment numbers. It was shut down by the school district, sold to Elk Grove Park District, and remodeled to become the new Jack E. Claes Pavilion Recreation Facility.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the village embarked on a series of beautification and redevelopment programs which included the installation of a clock tower at Village Hall, installation of brick-paved crosswalks in residential areas, new landscaping in boulevards and other public lands, and installation of retro-themed street lights.

In 2006, Elk Grove became one of the first municipalities in Illinois to enact a public smoking ban,[4] and in 2008 became one of the first Chicago suburbs to use red light cameras. In April 2009, Elk Grove Village inaugurated the first Leed Gold Certified Village Hall in the State of Illinois.[5]

Elk Grove Village is home to the largest consolidated business park in North America.[citation needed] The business park comprises 5.9 square miles (3,776 acres) and continues to expand. There are nearly 3,600 businesses operating in the business park, employing nearly 100,000 persons.

The Elk Grove business park is home to the largest concentration of manufacturers in the Midwest; the largest concentration of logistic "freight" companies in the United States; and the 2nd largest source of manufacturing in the State of Illinois behind only the City of Chicago. The village is home to many large data centers which rely upon the convergence of national fiber optic networks and natural gas lines in Elk Grove, which has other strategic advantages for business including the convergence of national fiber optic cables, national gasoline and oil pipelines, and a virtually unlimited supply of fresh Lake Michigan water.

In 2014, the city launched a new website to serve as an online oasis for all things business related in the city. Current and prospective businesses and real estate professionals can access tools and resources for recruitment resources, work referrals, job requests and more. Those that own or work for a business within Elk Grove qualify for a free membership and profile.[6]

On December 30, 2014, Global Trade Magazine named Elk Grove Village one of America's best cities for global trade.[7]

According to the 2010 census, Elk Grove Village has a total area of 11.408 square miles (29.55 km2), of which 11.34 square miles (29.37 km2) (or 99.4%) is land and 0.068 square miles (0.18 km2) (or 0.6%) is water.[10]

There were 13,278 households of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.17.

24.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median household income was $62,132 and the median family income was $71,834. Males had a median income of $50,141 versus $34,054 for females. The per capita income for the village was $28,515. About 1.5% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

The Downtown area of Elk Grove Village, located in the Biesterfield Road corridor east of Interstate 290 and west of Arlington Heights Road, is home to the Charles J. Zettek Municipal Complex (Village Hall), which was renovated in 2009 and is a LEED-certified structure, the Elk Grove Public Library, Jack A. Claes Pavilion Recreation Facility, Alexian Brothers Medical Center, and St. Julian Emyard Catholic Church. It is also the home to Veterans Memorial Park, Elk Grove Theatre, and the headquarters for Elk Grove Park District. There is also a Starbucks, Jewel food store, and a Walgreens drugstore with drive-thru convenience.